Shot a bear. Need a butcher. Good read.

[Redneck]

Hey guys n gals. Yes the bears are out in Region 2, well at least one was. Went out Saturday for a day hunt and bagged myself a beautiful cinnamon boar. Up in the Squamish area, with next to no visible sign of any bears I found myself one piece of skat on the road. So, grabbed the .308 and off I went. Started off following some game trails with lots of sign of deer n elk and just kept going, finally came across some fatter prints in the mud and a few older pieces of skat, gettin warmer. Eventually I came up to some fresh tracks and skat, alright hearts a-goin now. Keepin low keep goin and about a hundred yards ahead I see him get up from his little dug out and look at me, I sight em in with my brand new Vortex Viper scope and BAM. Thru n thru both lungs in and out, he managed to run half way up a tree looked at me as I stared back through my scope I knew it was over. He falls. As I watch him take his last couple breaths I exhale with the biggest sense of relief, finally slayed me beast. Been trying to pull a black out of that certain area in Squamish for years now with minimal luck until yesterday. Wrestlin him outta there with one buddy was a huge hassle since I didn't want to dress him there, I wanted to keep the pelt. After a couple hours of grueling draggin, pushin, pullin n cursing, finally had him in the back of the truck.

Which brings me to my next point. I usually always hunt out of town, in fact this is my first kill in the Region 2. My butcher I use is up north near 100 Mile, which is a bit too far to drive for just a bear ha. I'm located in Burnaby and was trying to find a guy closer in the Lower Mainland that will do the cutter and butcher as well as making sausage, pepperoni and jerky. I tried Ennis, heard they're good but closed Sundays. I got the bear hanging in the garage for now which is okay till tomorrow at the latest with our mild weather.

Can anyone give me a good butcher to try out that they like? I would greatly appreciate any suggestions provided. Good luck, and happy huntin!

[BearStump]

send steelco a pm. he has a list compiled of lower mainland butchers that have been recomended by HBC members.

[Steeleco]

Congrats on the bear, we will need pictures ya know!! Send me a note to steeleco@gmail.com and you'll have the list ASAP

[Redneck]

Here's a pic of the bear

[d6dan]

Redneck, he doesn't look happy. JK man, nice bear..

[VancouverSkiBum]

Very nice! Would like to hear who you end up choosing for a butcher, and how much he charged you for what. Please, shoot me a PM if you have the time. Cheers.

[Redneck]

Thanks Steelco for the butcher list. Much appreciated! I ended up taking my bear to Mark at Ennis Meats. He was a really nice guy and said my bear looked real good and that I was the first of the season! Made me happy to hear that. We shot the shit for a while, he's good people. Outta the 150lbs of meat n bone; I'm gettin couple roasts, a few steaks, sasuage, jerky, and pepperoni made up so once I get it back I'll post the price and the quality.

[BuckNaked]

congrats, nice bruin!

[Derp]

nice bear! I've tried a few butchers locally, but so far Beltrame Meat Supply in Langley has done the best bear pepperoni for me

[Redneck]

Thanks guys! Yeah it's probably my biggest I've gotten so far so I'm definitely happy with it. Steelco was suggesting Beltrame too but it's closed Monday and I had to get it in before Tuesday since we got blessed with this rare heat down here.

Here's another question for you guys. I tried my best to skin the bear out to make a rug out of it, any suggestions to a good taxidermy? I've use Fur n Feathers before and wasn't overly impressed with what they did with my last bear that my buddy with tons of experience skinned for me. Any other places with good work n good rates?